Method of preheating immersion nozzle for continuous casting

ABSTRACT

An immersion nozzle for continuous casting resistant to the corrosive action of the melt and the covering material in a mold is made of a refractory material comprising a mixture of electrically conductive graphite and/or silicon carbide, at least one member selected from the group consisting of alumina, zircon, zirconia, fused silica and a metallic silicon, and a binder. The nozzle is covered with a thermal insulating cover having a thickness of approximately 60 mm and made of fused silica containing fibers. The nozzle is preheated without moving it from its operating position by connecting a pair of electrical terminals to opposite ends thereof and passing electric current through the nozzle between the terminals for a period of time sufficient to raise the temperature of the nozzle sufficiently to prevent cracking, spalling, etc. during casting operation. After the preheating is completed the terminals may be removed from the nozzle. The insulating cover may be retained on the nozzle during tapping or the portion thereof that is immersed in the melt may be cut away.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method of preheating an immersion nozzle for continuous casting.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As well known in the art, immersion nozzles for continuous casting are used under conditions so severe that they are required to have high spalling resistance. To meet the requirement, they are generally made of an appropriate combination of a fused silica-containing material, a graphite-alumina containing material, a silicon carbide-containing material, a zircon-containing material and a zirconia-containing material. Nozzles made of these materials must be heated thoroughly prior to their use. Preheating has conventionally been performed within an oven located far from the place of use. Gas has been a common medium for preheating but at least two hours are required to heat the nozzle to about 800° C. Furthermore, so much time is involved removing the nozzle from the oven and installing it at a predetermined location that a temperature drop is inevitable in that interval. In addition, installing an object heated to high temperatures is difficult. What is more, if the temperature loss is excessive, cracking of the nozzle may occur or the deposit of inclusions such as Al₂ O₃ in the nozzle opening may render tapping impossible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As a result of various studies directed to a method of preheating free from the above defects it has been found that by using the resistance heat developed by the passage of current directly through an immersion nozzle, the nozzle can be heated without moving it from its operating position. The nozzle employed has a suitable electrical resistivity and is provided with a thermal insulating cover which is of a sufficient thickness so as to allow a substantial shortening of the time otherwise required for preheating. Materials of which the nozzle may be made include mixtures containing electrically conductive graphite and/or silicon carbide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section of a heating apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of a heating apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of this invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the dimensions of sample immersion nozzles and the positions at which temperature measurement was made.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between current application time and the resulting temperature increase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention is described by reference to FIG. 1 which illustrates a heating apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of this invention wherein a tap hole opening/closing apparatus 2 (e.g., sliding nozzle valve) disposed at the bottom of melt container 1 comprises a fixed refractory plate 3, a sliding refractory plate 3' driven by a cylinder F, an engaging member 4 at the bottom of the sliding refractory plate 3', an immersion nozzle 6 detachably associated with the engaging member 4 by means of an actuating rod 5, and a nozzle conduit 7. The rod 5 for connecting 4 and 6 is pivotably mounted on a supporting leg 5' attached to the frame of the opening/closing apparatus 2.

The immersion nozzle 6 is made of a refractory material which has a suitable electrical resistivity and is resistant to the corrosive action of the melt and the covering material (powder) of the melt in the mold. A suitable material comprises a mixture of an electrically conductive graphite and/or silicon carbide and at least one member selected from the group consisting of alumina, zircon, zirconia, fused silica and metallic silicon and a binder blended therewith. A nozzle made of such material is provided with terminals 8, 8' at both ends to which current is applied through conductors 12 until the nozzle is adequately heated.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of this invention wherein current is passed through the nozzle 6 which is attached to the actuating rod 5 but does not make an intimate contact with the nozzle engaging member 4. Terminals 8, 8' are provided at both ends of the nozzle 6. In the figures, a heat insulating cover 9 is made, for instance, of fused silica containing fibers and surrounds the outer periphery of the nozzle 6. Also, FIG. 2 shows a voltmeter 10, an ammeter 11 and an A.C. power unit E.

Upon completion of preheating, the terminals for the electric current supply are removed from the nozzle. Tapping can start immediately after the removal of the terminals in the embodiment of FIG. 1, or after removing the terminals and bringing the nozzle 6 into intimate contact with the engaging member 4 by the operation of the rod 5 in the embodiment of FIG. 2. Little temperature drop occurs in either embodiment. The insulating cover 9 may be retained on the nozzle during tapping or the portion that is immersed in the melt may be cut away.

This invention will hereunder be described in the greater detail by reference to the following examples which are given here for illustrative purposes only and are by no means intended to limit the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

An immersion nozzle (500 mm in overall length, 120 mm in outside diameter, and 50 mm in inside diameter) was supplied with a DC current through copper terminals attached to both ends of the nozzle. The increase in temperature was measured at points A, B and C of the nozzle conduit indicated in FIG. 3. A scale-like graphite was placed between each copper terminal and the nozzle to minimize the possible contact resistance. The results of the measurement are set forth in Table 1 and FIG. 5. When an insulating cover about 60 mm thick was used, a temperature of about 800° C. could be obtained in about 50 minutes.

    ______________________________________                                         Composition of Immersion Nozzle (wt. %)                                        ______________________________________                                         Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                         C            SiC    SiO.sub.2                                        ______________________________________                                         60        29           7      4                                                ______________________________________                                         Specific Resistivity                                                           ______________________________________                                         at 50° C.                                                                            16.5 × 10.sup.-3 Ωcm                                  at 500° C.                                                                           13.1 × 10.sup.-3 Ωcm                                  ______________________________________                                         Nozzle Dimension                                                               ______________________________________                                         Overall Length   500 mm                                                        Outside Diameter 120 mm                                                        Inside Diameter   50 mm                                                        ______________________________________                                    

                                      TABLE 1                                      __________________________________________________________________________                                             Specific                               Current                           Resis-                                                                               Resis-                                 Time Temperature (°C.)                                                                      Voltage                                                                             Current                                                                             Power                                                                              tivity                                                                               tivity                                 (min.)                                                                              Point A                                                                             Point B                                                                             Point C                                                                             (V)  (A)  (KW)                                                                               (Ω) × 10.sup.-3                                                          Ω-cm × 10.sup.-3           __________________________________________________________________________     With Insulating Cover                                                          10   252  209  228  4.05 550  2.23                                                                               7.36  13.12                                  20   439  352  383  4.15 566  2.35                                                                               7.33  13.06                                  30   573  485  528  3.89 583  2.27                                                                               6.67  11.89                                  40   693  633  645  3.37 591  1.99                                                                               5.70  10.18                                  50   804  750  733  3.28 625  2.05                                                                               5.25   9.36                                  Without Insulating Cover                                                       10   214  195  202  3.19 616  1.97                                                                               5.18   9.23                                  30   416  365  382  3.67 596  2.19                                                                               6.16  10.98                                  50   481  420  438  3.70 596  2.21                                                                               6.21  11.07                                  70   503  444  467  3.70 604  2.28                                                                               6.24  11.12                                  90   510  450  469  3.83 600  2.30                                                                               6.38  11.37                                  110  517  450  474  3.95 591  2.33                                                                               6.68  11.90                                  130  521  450  473  3.96 600  2.38                                                                               6.60  11.76                                  __________________________________________________________________________      Insulating Cover about 60 mm Thick                                       

EXAMPLE 2

An immersion nozzle (1,250 mm in overall length, 90 mm in outside diameter, and 50 mm in inside diameter) was supplied with a DC current through copper terminals attached to both ends of the nozzle. The increase of temperature was measured at the center D of the nozzle conduit indicated in FIG. 4. The results of the measurement are set forth in Table 2. When an insulating cover about 60 mm thick was used, a temperature of about 724° C. could be obtained in about 120 minutes, and the preheated nozzle performed with good results.

As described above, the application of the preheating method of this invention can be continued up to just before use of the nozzle and hence little temperature loss results. Therefore, not only can cracking of the refractory for the nozzle or formation of the deposit of inclusions within the nozzle be prevented but also the period for preheating can be shortened.

    ______________________________________                                         Composition of Immersion Nozzle (wt. %)                                        ______________________________________                                         Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                                                         C            SiC    SiO.sub.2                                        ______________________________________                                         60        29           7      4                                                ______________________________________                                         Specific Resistivity                                                           ______________________________________                                         at 50° C.                                                                            16.5 × 10.sup.-3 Ωcm                                  at 500° C.                                                                           13.1 × 10.sup.-3 Ωcm                                  ______________________________________                                         Nozzle Dimension                                                               ______________________________________                                         Overall Length  1,250        mm                                                Outside Diameter                                                                               90           mm                                                Inside Diameter 50           mm                                                ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Heating with Insulating Cover about 60 mm Thick                                Current                Temperature                                             Time           Power   Point (D)                                               (min.)         (KW)    (°C.)                                            ______________________________________                                         10             1.91     95                                                     20             "       159                                                     30             "       224                                                     40             "       288                                                     50             "       346                                                     60             "       406                                                     70             "       465                                                     80             "       518                                                     90             "       572                                                     100            "       625                                                     110            "       674                                                     120            "       724                                                     ______________________________________                                    

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of preheating an immersion nozzle for continuous casting, comprising:providing a nozzle made of an electrically conductive refractory material having sufficient resistance so that, upon being subjected to the passage of current therethrough, said nozzle is caused to be heated, said material of said nozzle being resistant to the material of the melt in a mold, and said material comprising a mixture of an electrically conductive graphite and/or silicon carbide and at least one member selected from the group consisting of alumina, zircon, zirconia, fused silica and a metallic silicon, and a binder; covering said nozzle with a thermal insulating cover having thermal insulating properties and a thickness of approximately 60 mm sufficient to allow a substantial decrease in the time required for preheating said nozzle up to a desire temperature; connecting a pair of electrical terminals to opposite ends of said nozzle and in electrical contact therewith; and passing electric current through said nozzle between said terminals for a period of time sufficient to raise the temperature of said nozzle to said desired level.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of, after completion of preheating, removing the terminals for the electric current supply from the nozzle. 